In every school that has a suicidal prevention program, the main topic is mostly, “Don’t bully people, it can cause suicide!” That statement may be correct but it is not the only thing that can make people suicidal or cause them to attempt suicide. As you look around, how often do you see nonfictional books or movies on suicide where the main cause of the suicidal victim to try to kill themself is not bullying? Rarely. Though it is true that the rate of bullying is rising and has caused many suicide outbreaks in the past, but it isn’t near the causing rate of suicide as some risk factors are.

When you walk down hallways at school, you can see friends teasing each other, but sometimes you can see worse. For instance, students fighting, harassing, teasing, abusing, and yelling at each other; this is a common issue in schools. Though that statement is correct bullying is slowly going down in numbers. Since 2005, bullying has gone down by five percent. Though that is a small number, the effects are amazing. Bullycide has gone down tremendously, and it isn’t the most common cause of suicide anymore. Another statement about bullying is that male suicides are more common due to the fact that they are bullied more than girls. Yes, suicide rates for males are much higher than women, women actually attempt suicide three times more than men. Also, bullying among teen girls is rising. In a recent survey, sixty percent of the teen girls taking the survey admitted to being bullied on more than one occasion. A more popular opinion going around in society is that bullying is the major cause of suicide. That statement is completely false and has never been true. For centuries, suicide has been in society, risk factors including gambling, debt, teen pregnancy, personal relationships, alcohol/drug abuse, and more have caused a lot more suicides than bullying. In recent studies, it has shown that gambling is the highest causing rate of suicide for young teens. Many teenagers crave the win but get so down at the loss that they see suicide as the only option instead of paying of the debt or asking their parents because of the shame.

A common topic in discussion groups for high school students is drugs and alcohol. In many accounts of suicide in the media or in books, drug/alcohol abuse caused the suicide. An eighteen year old knew of his drug addiction and sought help from a rehab for teens. The rehab denied him because they said his addiction didn’t compare o others in the rehab. Immediately after hearing this, he cut his wrists hoping to leave his addiction behind him with all the pain he has caused himself and his family. He was taken to the hospital but was released two days later even though he was having severe mental breakdowns. Once he returned home he hung himself, not being able to deal and want to live with his addiction. Suicide numbers are rising but because of several different issues in society. On average, one point five million people die per year because of suicide. In many cases, those causes are parents. Parents in society today are always trying to make their child perfect. Sometimes they expect some much more than what can be given from the teenager. In one account, a student got a thirty on their SATs their parents grounded them and the teenager felt awful. They parents continually put pressure on her and she couldn’t handle it. They yelled at her to improve her grades and said she wasn’t working hard enough in her sports. The teen cracked and couldn’t handle knowing she failed her parents. When she committed suicide, her parents had no clue what they were doing to her at the time and now they cry everyday knowing what they did to her. Also, another cause other than bullying is personal relationships. In personal relationships, sometimes the connection dies, or one of the people in the relationship dies. Sometimes, knowing you can’t be with the one you love anymore causes them to commit suicide. A classic couple who can prove this cause is Romeo and Juliet. This classic love story is an example of how they are torn apart by different forces, rejecting them of their love. They can’t bear being apart and kill themselves hoping to reunite after death.

Though bullying is a common issue in society and has caused many suicide outbreak sin the past, it is not the only issue in society causing suicide today. In many cases, risk factors have been extremely involved in causing suicide. Gambling, alcohol/drug abuse, teen pregnancy, and many more have caused a timely tale on teens in society today. Though bullying is a big part of society, it is not a big part of suicide.